New Westin Hotel Plan Goes To Planning Board Next Week

The developer of a luxury Westin Hotel planned for the Bethesda Court Hotel and next-door retail building will go back to the Planning Board on Thursday, April 4 with a revised plan that Planning Staff says addresses concerns from neighboring property owners.

D.C.-based developer The Bernstein Companies modified the design on the south side of the two-building development (7740 Wisconsin Ave.) that will include 466,000 square feet of office, retail and hotel space now with an additional 19 rooms for a total of 222. The changes include reallocating 2,885 square feet of office space to restaurant/retail and hotel use.

The hotel as proposed would be include 12 floors with a lobby entrance on Woodmont Avenue in the south building on the property. The north building, separated by a 36-foot wide pedestrian pass-through connecting Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenues, would be an 11-floor office building with a lobby entry and ground-floor retail opening up to Wisconsin Avenue.

Planning Staff said it met with the owners of the Bethesda Place office buildings and apartment complex south of the property and they are OK with the new plan’s design and compatibility.

The development includes razing and building on what is now the Smoothie King-led collection of shops at 7720 Wisconsin Ave.

The Woodmont to Wisconsin Avenue pedestrian cut-thru is similar to one proposed by Chevy Chase-based developer JBG a few blocks north, at its 17-story, 475-unit apartment planned for 7900 Wisconsin Ave.